What is Polyurethane Foam and is it Safe?

There is nothing ‘lightweight’ about polyurethane foam. Its usage is ‘expanding’ in an ever-widening list of applications. Not least to combine comfort or insulation with durability.

Polyurethane foam’s properties are many and varied. Largely as it can be created in an infinite number of tensile strengths, densities, shapes and colours.

The universal features of polyurethane also make it the best material for manufacturing foam parts, structures and sheets. You can also use highly versatile PU foam for infilling and grouting.

As polyurethane bonds brilliantly with other surfaces, this type of foam is a superb adhesive option too.

We cover how polyurethane is made elsewhere on this site. However, it’s worth emphasising that it can be formulated according to your exact needs – from rock-hard versions as strong as metal, to highly pliable, open and elastic variations. PU is always remarkably durable and tough. Even as a foam!

More reasons to craft foam from polyurethane

Reference has already been made to how versatile polyurethane is as a material to commission foam that matches even the most exacting specifications.

Another of the many advantages of PU foam is that it has superb insulation properties. Even as a thin layer, polyurethane foam can act as an excellent energy efficiency measure. It can be used to deaden sound or vibrations too.

Polyurethane foam is also extremely resistant to moisture, forming a valuable water barrier.

Nor will this type of foam material gather moulds, mildew and layers of oil, as it is highly resistant to all forms of contaminates.

Applications for polyurethane foam

As PU foam can be commissioned with a vast array of properties, the uses for polyurethane foam are expanding all the time.

Of course, it helps that this is also a highly cost-effective and quick method of creating foams, whether you need large insulation panels or injectable foams to fill small cavities.

Furniture and furnishings

As it has the capacity to be both strong and comfortable, it’s no surprise that the furniture industry has been choosing polyurethane foam for seating and mattresses for decades. It is also increasingly used within smaller household furnishings, such as chair cushions, quilts and items that need wear-resistant fillers.

From a consumer point of view, apart from the comfort factor, they also get an item that holds its shape for many years, even after frequent use. This is due to polyurethane’s unrivalled molecular bonding, which makes it resistant to friction, abrasion and pressure.

Automotive industry foams

Logically, this combination of strength, durability and comfort has led to the widespread use of polyurethane foam within vehicle seating. However, PU as a whole is increasingly used by the automotive sector, as a way to source cost-effective parts and structures with 100% accuracy and undoubted reliability.

This is taking polyurethane across the whole vehicle – from seats and dashboards to such vital components as suspension bushes.

Polyurethane foams in construction

It is perhaps in the construction sector that the most large-scale uses of polyurethane foams are to be found.

As it offers thermal insulation, acoustic absorbance and resistance to contamination, this naturally makes PU foam sheets valuable to slot into structures. Polyurethane foam then also offers excellent dimensional stability within buildings.

Also, polyurethane in all its forms is increasingly the material of choice for decorative features -externally and internally – for new residences and workplaces. Particularly as it can be created in even complex designs, and will weather any environment it is placed in to.

Is polyurethane foam safe?

Another key reason PU foam is increasingly being used in an ever-growing range of applications is that its safety record is exemplary. Not just due to the fact it stands up to relatively high temperatures – without ‘leaking’ toxic fumes – and it doesn’t flake or give off ‘dust’ in contact with friction.

You can read more about whether polyurethane is toxic for humans for a more in-depth answer.

Its incredible strength also makes polyurethane foam the ‘go-to material’ when you want something that stands up to excessive pressure and use, such as robust toys or protective packaging.

It is even increasingly featured in the design of safety and sportswear clothing, and for the manufacture of shoes!